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	Border Collie who has Kennel Cough Q: Dear Vet Billboard My dog was diagnosed as having kennel cough on Friday, 2nd June. How long will he remain infectious and when can he start socialising with other dogs again. He only started to show the symptoms on Friday and is already well on his way to recovering. Ben is a two and half year old border collie and it is thought he may have contracted the kennel cough at his training class. Thanks for any help or advice Judy

A: Kennel cough is a highly infectious disease of dogs characterised by a harsh cough. The dogs are usually well in themselves but cough when they become excited, or even at rest. The condition is usually treated with antibiotics, which control some of the agents responsible for the condition but not all, and thus usually limit severity and accelerate recovery. The cough can persist for several weeks however. Categoric answers to your questions about how long you should isolate your dog are not easy to give as dogs may harbour the agent responsible for the condition for months after being infected although they themselves are by this stage immune to infection. Probably your dog should avoid dog contact for three to four weeks to minimise risk of passing on the infection. However if he picked it up at the training class, then all the dogs there have been exposed and so it is debatable whether such an extended period of isolation from this group is necessary. Angela Bodey MRCVS (Vet for PetPlanet)

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